A Democratic judge and five other individuals have been indicted on charges of voter fraud, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday, shaking the political landscape of Frio County. The allegations stem from a multi-year investigation into potential vote harvesting during the 2022 primary elections.
Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho, an elected Democratic judge in Frio County, faces three counts of vote harvesting. The indictment also names her sister, a county trustee; the county’s election administrator; two Pearsall, Texas city council members; and another woman.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by Mary Moore, Camacho’s opponent in the Democratic primary runoff.
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Moore alleged that Camacho hired a Democratic operative to collect mail-in ballots, complete applications, and transport voters to polling locations, with payments ranging from $1,500 to $2,500.
Reports indicate that Camacho and her associates targeted elderly voters in a Pearsall subdivision. One individual involved in the alleged scheme reportedly concealed ballots under her clothing and used multiple vehicles to evade detection.
Camacho, who campaigned on a platform of “UNITY, MOVEMENT and PROGRESSION FOR FRIO COUNTY,” narrowly won her primary races. She defeated Moore by 157 votes initially and then by 72 votes in the runoff, out of 322 total ballots cast.
Vote harvesting, which involves the collection and delivery of completed absentee or mail-in ballots by a third party, is illegal in Texas. The practice circumvents the intended process of voters filling out and sealing their ballots independently.
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Attorney General Paxton, who has announced a primary challenge to incumbent Republican Texas Senator John Cornyn in 2026, emphasized his commitment to prosecuting public officials engaged in electoral misconduct. “Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Paxton stated.
Paxton’s office has a history of prosecuting voter fraud, having charged four people with vote harvesting in 2020, including a county commissioner.
All suspects except Judge Camacho were arrested on May 2. She is scheduled to be processed at a later date, according to the Attorney General’s statement.
Vote harvesting is classified as a third-degree felony in Texas, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
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